Homemade Green Enchilada Sauce
Made from roasted green chiles, this homemade green enchilada sauce is infinitely more delicious than store bought and so easy to make.
The incredible flavor of this enchilada sauce will blow you away. Below are all the details, like the best types of peppers to use, how to make the sauce, if it can be processed/canned, and more!
What Kind of Peppers to Use
While this sauce is very simple to make, it is important to use the right types of peppers for maximum flavor.
The best types of peppers to use are:
- Anaheim peppers
- Poblano peppers
- Hatch chiles
The recipe also includes finely chopped jalapeños. This ingredient is optional but adds flavor and is a way to increase the heat, if you want a spicier enchilada sauce.
How to Roast Fresh Chiles or Peppers
Roasting the green chiles is an important step and adds amazing flavor to the sauce.
To roast green chiles at home:
- Wash and dry chiles.
- Place the chiles on a foil-lined baking sheet.
- Broil in the oven, turning once or twice, until the skins are blackened and bubbled.
- Place the roasted chiles in a ziploc bag or bowl and seal the bag or cover the bowl with plastic wrap.
- Let the peppers cool.
- Remove the skins, stem and seeds.
For this recipe, after the peppers are roasted and skins removed, finely chop the peppers before adding them to the sauce.
Other FAQs for Homemade Enchilada Sauce
In answer to some commonly asked questions, here are a few additional notes for this recipe:
- The sauce is thickened with a simple roux and cooked until it coats the back of a spoon.
- The spices can be altered, to taste – add more or less of what you like.
- Additional types of peppers can also be used if you’d like to experiment with other varieties.
- Read through the comments below for many ways others have served/used this sauce and also how they’ve varied the recipe to suit their tastes.
- Unfortunately, this recipe has not been tested for canning safety, and should not be processed or canned to be shelf stable.
Still making this almost 10 years later and still getting compliments every time! The best enchilada sauce there ever was.
—Anika
Recipes to Use Homemade Green Enchilada Sauce In:
- Crispy Enchilada Wraps
- Easy Chicken Enchilada Casserole
- Honey Lime Chicken Enchiladas
- Creamy Green Chile Chicken Enchiladas
- Slow Cooker Posole
- Cafe Rio Sweet Pork
- Smothered Sweet Pork Burritos
- Skillet Chicken with Mexican Green Rice
- White Chicken Enchiladas
- Honey Lime Chicken or Pork Enchiladas
- Chicken Enchilada Pasta
Homemade Green Enchilada Sauce
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons oil
- ½ cup finely chopped onion
- 1 to 2 cloves of garlic, finely minced
- 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 1 ½ cups low-sodium chicken or vegetable broth
- 1 cup Anaheim, poblano, or Hatch chiles, roasted, peeled and finely chopped (see note to use canned chiles)
- 1 medium jalapeño, finely diced (optional)
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon cumin
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- ¼ teaspoon dried oregano
Instructions
- In a medium saucepan, heat the oil over medium heat until hot. Add the onion and garlic and cover.
- Cook for 5-6 minutes, stirring once or twice to make sure the garlic and onions aren't sticking (adjust the heat if they are). Cook until the onions are soft but not browned.
- Stir in the flour and cook for 2-3 minutes, stirring constantly. It’s ok if the flour clumps around the onions, just keep stirring to let the flour get golden and toasty.
- Gradually add the broth, whisking quickly and constantly to smooth out any lumps.
- Add the chile peppers, jalapeños (if using), salt, cumin, black pepper, oregano and bring to a boil.
- Reduce the heat to low and simmer for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally until the sauce is silky and thickened and coats a spoon while still dripping off. Add additional broth to thin, if needed.
- Taste, and add additional salt, if needed.
- The sauce can be processed in a blender for a smoother consistency. It will keep well in the fridge for up to 2 weeks. Otherwise, it can be frozen for 1 to 2 months in a well-sealed container.
Notes
Recommended Products
Recipe Source: from my friend, Liz K. (thanks, Liz!)
Recipe originally published October 2013; updated August 2025 with new photos, recipe notes, etc.
Whoo-EEE! My garden went bananas with jalapenos and yellow chiles. The flavor of this was absolutely delicious but My use of about 8 or 9 jalapenos and 4 yellow chiles meant it had some HEAT! I’m sure poblanos it’s perfect!!! I oven-broiled the peppers, onion, and garlic until starting to get blackened, then sauteed in the oil until they were cooked the rest of the way through. I did use an immersion blender. Aside from the heat (and that was my bad!), it was outstanding! SOOOO much better than anything vinegary and tinny tasting, out of a can!!! What a great recipe!
Hi Mel!
I was wondering a couple of things about this recipe: 1. How much does it yield as written, and 2. If I wanted to make this in large batches for canning, would I just increase everything equally?
Also, I noticed in one of the older comments someone asking about canning this in a hot water bath. It should be canned with a pressure canner at 10 lbs of pressure for 50 minutes if processing in pint jars. Thanks so much!!
It makes 2-3 cups. And yes, I would just increase everything proportionately. Good luck!
Made this recipe with hatch chilies (almost the same as an anaheim) tonight for enchiladas, delicious!
The best! TY
Great recipe, being from El Paso I am picky about green chili anything.
This is the best green chili sauce. Thanks for sharing. J Thompson, colorado springs
Omg. I have been trying to find a green chile sauce recipe for years with no luck. None come out the way I want. Until this one. Tastes exactly how I wanted it to come out. Thank you!
Lived in California years ago and discovered Mexican food. Now back in Scotland and was craving some green enchiladas. Came across this recipe and absolutely love it, as does everyone I feed these to. Have to use the jar of chillies but to be honest tastes as I remember. Thank you for sharing this. This is a simple and easy sauce to make.
Delicious and worked perfectly for me since I had no tomatillos and every other recipe seemed to call for them.
Cindy
I made this today to top a vegetarian enchilada recipe I found on The Spuces website. I roasted and peeled fresh poblano chile’s and subbed vegetable stock for the chicken stock. This sauce made this dish! It was spectacular! Will definitely make this again and again…truly a great recipe. Thank you!
If I double this recipe do I also double the amount of flour?
Yes, I would double all the ingredients.
I whipped this up last night with what I had on hand, meaning canned chilies. I also didn’t have any broth but I had a package of chicken ramen noodles so I took the soup packet and used half of that. And to add zip I threw in a pinch of cayenne to substitute for the optional jalapeño. It was good. I liked it and I imagine with fresh chilies it’d be even better.
The best! No more can o soup!
It appears Canadian retailers aren’t interested in the Latino community or it’s food . Simply, not enough to make any money on so the food products are not brought into Canada.
A check of any grocery store or a Wally mart will show Mexican food as Tacos…that’s all that’s it!
I have found frozen bags of Hatch green Chile’s at Wal-Mart. Maybe you can also?
How many tomatoes?
I agree with several reviews that this recipe is a green chile gravy. 3T. of flour is the giveaway. If you enjoy a lighter, brighter sauce rich in citrus notes, this isn’t for you. Would work as a base for posole.
This is a wonderful recipe! I did make two changes that may or may not appeal to the masses. I fried two pieces of Applewood Smoked Bacon and used the grease in lieu of the oil to brown the onion and garlic. I didn’t use the actual bacon in the sauce. And, I added 2 tablespoons of freshly squeezed lime juice to brighten up the flavor. I have used many recipes from Mel’s Kitchen Cafe and they are all fantastic! Thank you for sharing them!
I am making it for the third time. Using it for chicken enchiladas. I enjoy the flavor so much. The commercial canned sauce is distracting with the spicy bite. This sauce lets you enjoy the remainder of the ingredients you used to make the enchiladas. And it is not difficult to make. Just do it!
This turned out delicious! I didn’t use jalapeño as I didn’t have it on hand, but it still was quite tasty. The whole family loved it on homemade enchiladas 🙂
It turned out really good! Spicy, because of some peppers I bought from a local fruit stand. The only addition was cilantro. And I roasted my peppers and blended them with a can of green chilies.
My extended family owns the Hatch chili Co. we always made appoint to pick up chili when we visited my great- grandparents in Deming, NM. You can order green chili purée from them or get fresh green chili sent to u.
Si sinor in Deming makes the Best green chile. I wish I had their recipe, we live in Oklahoma.
I just made this with 3 poblano chiles, and have a question! Do I peel the poblano chiles’ skin or the inside stems? When I made it, I peeled the skin, not knowing what you meant, and it came out really tasty! So, thank you for posting, but would appreciate some clarity. Thanks!
Hi Rosanna, yes, if you are using fresh chiles and have roasted them, you’ll want to peel off the blistered outer skin (sounds like you did it just right!).
I love green sauce. Can you suggest how to make yours without flour?
I haven’t ever made it without flour, so you’ll have to experiment. Sorry I’m not more help!
I use corn starch instead of flour.
I tried this sauce over the winter…. totally another HOMERUN, Mel! Now that chilis are in season I want to make a huge batch to freeze in small baggies for super easy school night dinners. With school starting next week in our neck of the woods, I’m itching to get going. I’ve found great specials on Hatch chilis (but not Anaheim nor Poblanos). I know that you use canned chilis, but was wondering if anyone has used Hatch with any luck? I think that they’re pretty similar to Anaheim and Hatch refers more to the specific region they’re grown in. However, I wanted to see if I could get any feedback prior to making a giant batch. Thanks!
I see that your post was a few years ago but, want to let everyone know that my experience has been that Hatch green Chile’s tend to be hotter than the alternatives. You can always mix the mild with some of the medium!
This sauce turned out excellent, Thanks! I am bookmarking your site. I used gluten free flour called glutino and it was excellent!
You should order some pablano seeds online. Here we in CA have chilies everywhere. Growing chillies can be done in containers in the house too its super easy.
Anytime I am bringing a meal for someone I make enchiladas and I ALWAYS get asked for the recipe, it is also on my 2 week meal rotation. I make this to a T with the 505 brand green chiles in a jar from Costco. Amazing.
Just made this tonight and it doesn’t even compare to the canned sauce! I love your blog and recipes even though I may not always comment- you’re awesome!
So miy name is Lisa I’m not use to getting recipes off the internet but I was looking for an easier n better recipe for a wet burrito then I ran into urs at first I was hesitant to incorporate the bown sugar into the recipe well I made the sauce last night n I decided to put a little in a sm dish n add the brown to see what it would taste like n Omg it was amazing n quick n easy .Good job thanks for the recipe
Thank you for changing my life. This is amazing!
Thanks! I’ve been looking for a green enchilada sauce recipe!
Wow!!! Love this sauce. Just made it for dinner tonight to use for my dad’s green Chile enchiladas…. YUM-O. Even my dad went back for seconds (and I got a compliment from him, which almost never happens!)
Thank you so much for this recipe! I will be coming back again to check out the rest of your recipes.
Awesome green Sauce, only could find 3 questionable Anaheim peppers so added 2 hatch peppers. roasted them on grill, Made everything else per plans. Very flavorful and since I love the heat the hatch peppers worked out great! Will not ever use store bought again. Thanks!
Hi – did anyone ever find out if this sauce can be water bathed and canned?
Ball has a website devoted to canning. Here’s the link to their version of green sauce. You can presumably use this recipe and follow their canning instructions.
https://www.ballmasonjars.com/blog?cid=roasted-salsa-verde
I have looked & looked for a good green sauce! Thank you sooooo much!
Holy enchilada sauce! This was delicious. I usually make red enchilada sauce, but I felt like making green themed enchiladas this time. I am so glad I used your recipe! Delicious.
This is a staple in our house now and I’m so glad to kiss the canned green enchilada sauce goodbye. In case it is helpful for others, 3 large anaheim peppers or 3 average poblano (sometimes called pasilla) peppers usually give a cup when roasted, seeded and roughly chopped. I nearly always double the recipe since roasting more peppers isn’t much more work. Thank you, Mel!
A-MA-ZING!!! This was so delicious, and easier to make that I had thought. There isn’t a green enchilada sauce available where I live, but I have been able to find canned green chiles. This sauce was so yummy that I will never use a red enchilada sauce again. Thank you!
This is very close to the recipe I’ve used for years. I roast everything in a broiler/toaster oven, then blend it. Never have had to add flour (yuk anyway) or the salt. Just use less broth and flour isn’t needed. Do put some lime juice and fresh cilantro while blending.
It’s been over a year since this post but I want to thank you and your friend Liz for this recipe! I live in NM and have eaten lots of enchilada sauces of widely varying quality. Ive made good red but never tried to make green. I belong to some foodie groups that inspire me and todays project is bluecorn (that I grew myself and ground) bacon and cheese waffles. It called in my mind for a green enchilada sauce. I used yours with locally grown roasted green chile and this really good low sodium vegetable bouillon I have to mail order because I live in the middle of nowhere. I’m glad I decided to make a double batch to freeze some! It’s the bomb!
Picking up fresh Poblono peppers, I was eager to find a recipe to utilize these tasty peppers. Thinking enchiladas sounded good, I found this sauce recipe in my search. I roasted up the poblonos, peeled, seeded, and finely diced them. My wife came home to the alluring aroma of roasting peppers. Wondering what I was doing, She reminded me that we already had dinner set up with family. Homemade chicken fried steak was on the menu at my folks house. Hopes for an enchilada dinner were dashed! Undeterred, I was at the final stages of simmering and adding a little salt for taste. Even without the jalepeno, the flavor was wonderful with just the right kick. Since the poblono is thick pepper, I grabbed the immersion blender to chop it a little finer. This step did an amazing thing to the sauce. It thickened to the consistency of gravy. Since my wife broke the news, I had been trying to prepare my palate for chicken fried steak and cream gravy. Mmmm Gravy! I’ll bet you can guess the rest of the story. All I can say is FANTASTIC! This one is a keeper.
Loved your comment, Jason – thanks for your tips and glad you loved the recipe!
Okay, Mel! I have to share a tip about this (if anyone reads this comment). I’ve made it several times and really enjoy it. Last night, I was short on time, so I decided to broil/roast the peppers whole, rather than halving and seeding them first. I used 2 Anaheims and 2 Poblanos. After they roasted & cooled, I peeled the skin off, cut them in half, and discarded the seeds.
That was 20 hours ago, and my fingers are still slightly burning from the spice!! Not to mention, the sauce was INCREDIBLY spicy! When I Googled it, I found that the heat of (unseeded) peppers can be increased after cooking, since cooking releases the capsaicin (heat) in the seeds. So, lesson for anyone who’s roasting the peppers- I recommend seeding them FIRST, unless you like a ton of heat (and burning fingers!). 🙂
Thanks for the tips, Michelle – that’s annoying about your burning fingers!
Big thumbs up. I used your recipe as a base for Crock Pot Green Chile Enchilada Soup and it was a roaring success. I “accidentally” made it a little hot so a little goes a long ways. This has also been my go-to for my chicken enchiladas and as a ketchup replacement where ever humanly possible. Thanks for helping me warm up a cold Saskatchewan winter with a little tex mex heat.
This is awesome! I got back from New Mexico yesterday and was already missing green enchiladas. For whatever stupid reason you cannot get green enchilada sauce in DC – just red – so I determined to make it myself and man am I glad I found your recipe! I was super skeptical at first (no tomatillos?), and the first taste-for-salt taste was no bueno (bland!), but then, after the half hour simmering and the blending up – perfection! I used a spoonful of coconut flour with a tad bit of xanthan gum because I didn’t have wheat flour, and I only had a half cup can of green chilies, so I added some cayenne to make up for lost heat, and it came out GREAT. So psyched (can you tell?). THANK YOU. Will definitely make this again.
I’ve had my eye on this…..finally made it tonight and used it for the chicken enchilada stacks. Yum! I left out the jalapeños and used mild green chilis as my kids don’t like any heat. Next time I’ll use regular chilis AND make a double recipe so I can freeze half!
Hey, I’ve been planning on making this for a while now and finally might get around to it with the last produce from my garden but one detail wasn’t covered (because you couldn’t do it with fresh): after I roast and pull the skin off the peppers, to I open and take the seeds out? Or maybe beforehand? Surely the seeds don’t go in the sauce….? Anyway iron that one out for me or tell me where to find out and I’ll be rolling! Thank you so much for giving us a good plan to make this ourselves, green sauce is the bomb.
Actually you could leave the seeds in the sauce if you want a bit more heat, if not, I’d scrape them out after the peppers have been roasted.
Delicious! I made this on a whim for dinner tonight using ancho chillies that we harvested from our garden. Served it over black bean enchiladas! My kids ate up all of their dinner. =)
My hubby doubled this recipe and threw it in the croc pot with a pork roast for about 8 hours on low. We smothered nachos with the meat last night and it was AMAZING! 🙂 Thanks for such a yummy addition to our recipe book!
I made this tonight (again), and I love it!! I used 2 Anaheim and 1 poblano chiles, and I roasted and peeled them along with the jalapeno. It’s so flavorful, just the slightest bit spicy (but not too much for my kids), and it just tastes SO MUCH more real & fresh than the canned kind!!
Sometimes I buy it & sometimes I make it, but after reading the ingredient list and seeing that (among other things) the canned kinds all had food coloring in them (?!?), my goal will be to always make it from now on. It takes longer, but the end result is so much better!! Thanks!
I recently bought some roasted hatch chile peppers and have been looking for something to do with them.. thinking I’ll be making this soon.. thanks for the recipe
Hey Mel, just wanted to write and say I love making everything from scratch and hate all the garbage ingredients of store bought food. Because of this I’ve had to go away from green sauce on Mexican food which has been hard. So anyway one day I tried this recipe and it was so good but the major PAIN in the butt was peeling the stupid skin off all those chiles! Is it really just something people that are particular about Mexican food don’t mind doing, or am I doing it wrong because dang! I can’t make that kinda time commitment on a typical Tuesday night! I just broiled them in my oven but getting the skin off them was a pain and I seemed to lose so much of the meat of the pepper that it was just hugely frustrating. Maybe you should do a video tutorial….or maybe I should just get a clue! Idk. Anyhow, you’re so AWESOME for blogging recipes that are so home cooked and unprocessed and DOABLE. You have made me a rock star, thank you!